Douluo Continent: The Peerless Hunting Heavenly Lord, Huo Yuhao!

Electrolux's voice carried a faint smile: "It was nothing more than a lucky break. The essence of this soul bone just happened to match your spiritual attributes, and with the perfect refining in the flesh and blood furnace, you had this opportunity. The road ahead is long, so there's no need to be complacent."

……

Stretching lazily, his bones cracking, Huo Yuhao got up and walked out of the cultivation room.

The Lionheart Society's structure is already in place, the points system is about to be implemented, and the three shops are under renovation. There's nothing in the short term that requires his approval.

Since I'm just killing time anyway, I might as well go check out the Soul Guidance Department, tinker with a few low-level civilian soul tools, and sell them as specialty products in the shop later, which will provide me with a stable source of income.

The Soul Guidance Department and the Martial Soul Department face each other across the lake. Their buildings are full of metallic texture, and intricate magic arrays and forging platforms can be seen everywhere.

Just as Huo Yuhao reached the main gate, a figure emerged from the shade of a tree and blocked his way.

The newcomer was a tall young man around twenty years old, with neatly styled blond hair, a handsome face, and heterochromatic eyes. He bore a resemblance to Dai Huabin in his features, but was far more composed and reserved.

He was wearing the red school uniform of the inner courtyard, and his Soul Emperor-level Soul Power was deliberately restrained, so there was no sense of oppression. However, there was an undisguised weariness between his brows.

"Junior, could we discuss Dai Huabin's matter?" The young man's voice was deep, getting straight to the point.

Huo Yuhao raised an eyebrow, having already anticipated this, but his tone turned cold as he calmly retorted, "Who are you? What do you have to discuss with me?"

"Dai Heng." The young man looked him straight in the eye and introduced himself, "Dai Huabin's older brother."

Chapter 40 Give Me Face? What a joke! The Jade Omen Has Been Born!

"Oh." Huo Yuhao nodded indifferently, his tone completely calm.

To be fair, he had no personal animosity towards this young master of the Dai family, whom he had never met.

Dai Heng is composed and steady, unlike the arrogant and domineering Dai Huabin; he's someone who knows what's important. But having the surname Dai is itself a sin.

The White Tiger Duke's Mansion owes his mother and him what it owes him, and it must be repaid little by little.

Dai Heng frowned slightly, suppressing the inexplicable sense of familiarity in his heart, and took the initiative to lower his stance: "Junior Brother Huo, I can double the compensation. In addition to the three thousand-year soul bones, I will add another thousand-year soul bone and five hundred points of rare and precious materials. Hua Bin can also kowtow to you privately to apologize, I only ask that you not make this public in the whole academy. Leave some face for the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, consider it a favor from me, Dai Heng."

The words were spoken with great sincerity.

By apologizing privately and offering double compensation, they not only preserved the Duke's reputation but also provided Huo Yuhao with ample benefits.

If it were an ordinary freshman, they would probably have readily accepted the offer and done the Duke's family a huge favor.

But Huo Yuhao is not an ordinary freshman.

"Make a scene? Save face?" He scoffed as if he'd heard a joke, his eyes suddenly turning cold. "I don't understand what Senior Dai is saying. Who hired a Soul Emperor assassin to ambush me on my way back to the academy? Who went too far first? And now they're telling me not to make a scene?"

"Respect is earned, not given by others." He stepped forward, his gaze meeting Dai Heng's heterochromatic eyes, his tone resolute, "I can't accept favors from you, Dai Heng; and his face, Dai Huabin's, is even less valuable."

"My conditions will not change. Either he kneels down in public to repent and pays compensation, and we let it go; or we go through Shrek's proper procedures, deal with the ironclad rules for hiring someone to commit murder, expel him directly, and then make him apologize. You choose one of the two paths."

After saying that, he turned and walked away, not even giving Dai Heng a second glance as he passed by.

"Boy, the White Tiger Duke's mansion has a foundation that a freshman like you can't even imagine. Don't stray from the right path." Dai Heng's voice turned cold, and the pressure of a Soul Emperor level was faintly released, causing the air to freeze slightly.

Huo Yuhao didn't stop walking. He waved his hand with his back to him, his voice clear and firm: "I'll wait and see."

The boy's back was as straight as a pine tree, without the slightest fear.

Dai Heng stood there, watching him disappear behind the gates of the Soul Guidance Department, his brows furrowing even more deeply. The sense of familiarity grew stronger, especially the contours of his eyebrows and eyes, which resembled a figure long since faded from his memory.

"Impossible..." he murmured, shaking his head and suppressing the absurd thought.

……

Deep within the Soul Guidance System lies Qian Duoduo's private forging room.

The heavy soundproof door blocked out the outside noise, and the scorching metallic smell rushed out. The furnace on the forging table was blazing, and all kinds of precision soul guide parts were neatly arranged. The walls were covered with design drawings, which were orderly despite the chaos.

Since Zhou Yi's downfall, Huo Yuhao hadn't seen Fan Yu much, which wasn't surprising.

After all, this is the Douluo Continent where Cupid fell, and everyone is obsessed with love. It's perfectly normal for people to neglect their work for their wives.

At this moment, Qian Duoduo was holding a palm-sized, silver-gray cuboid, examining it closely and turning it over and over. His chubby face was filled with ecstatic joy, as if he were holding some rare treasure.

Huo Yuhao's gaze was instantly drawn to the cuboid.

The smooth, mirror-like casing, the square shape, and the perfect size to fit in the palm of your hand. He almost blurted out, "A cell phone?!"

"Huh? Yuhao's here!" Qian Duoduo looked up and saw him, her eyes crinkling into slits with a smile. Holding the cube, she strode over. "You mentioned to me before that you wanted to make a portable soul tool that could transmit messages over long distances and also publish information publicly. I've been thinking about it for half a month, and I actually managed to come up with it! We haven't decided on a name yet. You just mentioned 'cell phone'? What's that all about?"

"Teacher, you misheard me." Huo Yuhao cleared his throat with a subtle expression, forcibly covering up his mistake. "I said 'Yu Zhao.' Yu means message, and Zhao means news, so it means that the transmission of a message is as auspicious as a talisman."

“Yu Zhao… Yu Zhao…” Qian Duoduo stroked his beard and repeated it twice, then his eyes suddenly lit up. “What a great name! It’s classy! Let’s call him Yu Zhao!”

Huo Yuhao took the other Jade Zhao from Qian Duoduo. It felt slightly cool to the touch. The outer shell was made of lightweight silver mithril, and a flat transmission crystal was embedded in the front. The workmanship was so exquisite that it was completely unlike the first generation of experimental products.

He couldn't help but ask, "Teacher, is this jade tablet only capable of transmitting messages?"

"Of course not!" Qian Duoduo patted his chest proudly, his eyebrows dancing with excitement. "Following your idea, I've implemented two core functions. First, after the soul power is bound, the two Jade Palaces can transmit text messages over long distances; second, there's a public messaging platform where everyone can post and read messages. What did you call it again... a forum? Yes, a forum!"

Huo Yuhao was stunned on the spot.

Chatting and forums? This isn't just a first-generation communication device; it's already touching the threshold of mobile internet!

His lips twitched, and he mentally screamed: Who exactly is the Sun Moon Empire, the Holy Land of Soul Guidance? Qian Duoduo, is your research and development speed some kind of cheat code? I just casually mentioned a couple of concepts, and you've already produced a finished product?

"Aren't there any restrictions?" He composed himself and asked again.

"There's a limitation... too." Qian Duoduo scratched his head, looking regretful. "It requires the injection of soul power to activate and use, so ordinary people can't use it. I originally wanted to promote it to the common people, but it seems I'll have to think of a way to drive it without soul power."

Huo Yuhao was even more speechless.

So, the version without soul power is already in your development plan? Who's the real time traveler, teacher?!

“Teacher, you are underestimating yourself.” He laughed and cried at the same time. “Being able to achieve this is already a groundbreaking invention. Take it slow without soul power driving, there’s no rush.”

As he spoke, he channeled a wisp of spiritual energy into his fingertip, and the image transmission crystal on the front of the jade tablet instantly lit up, revealing a pale blue light screen before his eyes:

"Welcome to device number No. 3"

Huo Yuhao: "..."

They even have serial numbers; it looks quite professional.

Please enter your username: Huo Yuhao (default)

He twitched his fingertips slightly and casually changed his username: "Change nickname, Eternal Illumination Master".

"Nickname changed successfully: The Eternal Illuminator".

Qian Duoduo leaned closer to take a look, her face full of confusion: "Eternal Flame's pupil magic master? What does that mean? Why don't you use your real name and instead use an alias?"

"Of course you need an alias to play on forums," Huo Yuhao said in a serious tone, "You can't just wander around with the title of the Lionheart Society president, that's no fun."

........................

PS: Dragon King Legend Documents - Side Story (Incomplete)

According to the "General History of the Douluo Immortal Ship Empire: Soul Guidance Volume", in the year 2631 of the Douluo Calendar, the continent's soul guidance technology achieved a milestone breakthrough.

The terminal Jade Sign, spearheaded by Qian Duoduo, a leading figure in the contemporary soul guide world, and with the core architecture designed by his prized disciple, Heavenly Lord Huo Yuhao, has officially appeared.

This groundbreaking long-range communication soul tool broke down the information barriers that had long existed on the continent, which relied on communication soul arrays, communication talismans, and even human labor. It eliminated the communication constraints caused by geographical distance, fundamentally reshaping the information transmission system of the entire continent and laying the foundation for the subsequent nationwide rollout of the soul tool network, the overall coordination of government affairs in the Immortal Ship Empire, and the coordinated development of the soul tool industry.

As the scribe of the Grand Diviner, responsible for historical research and deducing the trajectory of the times, Ling Zichen, having reviewed the development of Soul Guidance over ten thousand years, recognizes that the birth of the Terminal Jade Sign marks a crucial turning point in the transformation of traditional Soul Guidance technology towards widespread adoption and networking. —Ling Zichen, Grand Diviner, *A General History of the Douluo Immortal Ship Empire—Soul Guidance Volume—Notes on the Research of the Terminal Jade Sign*

Chapter 41 The Lionheart Society's Jade Sign Test Point: The Abstract Management Team

"Hint: Soul Guide Qian Duoduo has requested to become your friend."

Huo Yuhao: "..."

He stared at the prompts on the screen, his lips twitching uncontrollably.

Good grief, you've actually gained prestige in another world, haven't you?

Even the friend request format is exactly the same.

"Teacher, we're just standing together, why do we need to send messages to test each other?" Huo Yuhao looked up at Qian Duoduo, who was excited, speechless.

"That's called being meticulous!" Qian Duoduo patted his shoulder, grinning from ear to ear. "Simply measuring at close range is useless; we need to measure at long distance. Lin'er is currently in Class Zero of the Martial Soul Department. I just sent her one too, so we can test how stable cross-campus communication is."

The moment the words left his mouth, the screen flickered again:

"Notification: Martial Goddess Lin'er has requested to become your friend."

Alright, you two are really efficient.

Huo Yuhao's lips twitched, and he clicked "accept." The moment he added her, Xian Lin'er's message popped up:

"Martial Goddess Lin'er: Xiao Yuhao, come to Class Zero of the Martial Soul Department after your test. I need to talk to you."

Huo Yuhao twitched his fingertips slightly and replied:

"Eternal Illumination Master: Yes, Master's wife, coming right away."

After sending the message, he looked up at Qian Duoduo and said seriously, "Teacher, the Jade Zhao is indeed very useful. I want to equip the core members of the Lionheart Society with a batch first, settle the accounts at cost price, and use the society's public accounts."

Huo Yuhao knew perfectly well: Qian Duoduo could give him money for free as a token of their master-disciple relationship, which he remembered. But the Lionheart Society was a collective, and he couldn't take advantage of them. Maintaining a clear distinction between public and private matters was his bottom line.

“Okay.” Qian Duoduo nodded readily, turned around and took out a whole box of jade tablets from his storage soul tool, about twenty in total. “I just made twenty prototypes, you can take them and use them first. You don’t need to pay the cost price, consider it my opening gift to the Lionheart Society. But remember, it’s only for core members to use, don’t spread it around, the technology isn’t fully finalized yet.”

He had his principles: Huo Yuhao was his personally trained disciple, and he would give him whatever he wanted; the Lionheart Society could offer conveniences and support out of respect for Huo Yuhao, but he wouldn't give anything away for free.

Even close brothers keep clear accounts; college clubs and organizations need even more rules.